


Deliverance

by savedbygrace94



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Action, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-03-23 04:59:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13780221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savedbygrace94/pseuds/savedbygrace94
Summary: "Calling him an ice brat or a mutt doesn't change his worth. He has power and I will wield it one way or another. Don't roll your eyes and act as if you haven't felt it. Infant though he may be, he holds enough power to end the world without breaking a sweat. All he needs is someone willing to break him in order to unleash it." When Pitch has his prey, Jacks become Jökuls.*Crossposted on FanFiction*





	1. Welcome to the World

Chapter 1: Welcome to the World

He hadn’t been too terribly hard to find. The woods had been alive with the excited whisperings of a new little winter sprite since the moment the pond gave birth to him. And just as a babe stayed close to its mother’s breast, so too the sprite hung close to the icy banks. But Pitch didn’t need the whisperings to know where the spirit would be, he had been present for the birth, present for the discovery that he truly was alone. And now, on his second night of existence, Pitch would be there to comfort.  
He hung back in the shadows and watched as the boy played alone, talking to himself as he decorated the trees in their ethereal frost garbs and laughing into the wind as it lifted him as though he weighed no more than a snowflake. Hung back until he saw the child settle on the banks of the pond and his shoulders began to heave with tears that would only freeze on his skin.  
Pitch set an ashen hand on the frost-covered shoulder. The boy yelped and skittered away, the wind moving him as much if not more than his feet. His eyes were wide and Pitch’s mouth split into a sharp-toothed grin.  
“Hello, little winter sprite,” The Nightmare King said and crouched down to meet the boy’s stare.  
The boy swallowed. “You…you can see me?” His voice was caught in that strange time between childhood and adulthood. Hints of what could have been a rich baritone mix with the trills of a child’s voice.  
Pitch dipped his head and smiled again. “Of course frost child, all spirits can see each other.”  
“Spirits?”  
“Yes little one, you are a spirit. As am I.”  
“Oh.” The boy seemed to relax a little, the wind setting him down—albeit a bit sloppily—in a snow bank. “Are there…others?”  
“Yes, many. But they are dangerous creatures and we must avoid them at all costs.” Pitch reached his hand forward and the boy took it hesitantly. “Do you have a name, little one?”  
“Jack Frost.”  
Pitch chuckled. “How very clever! Did you think of it all by yourself? Such talent!”  
“No, the moon told me so.”  
The smile melted from Pitch’s face. “The Moon?”  
The boy nodded. “When I came out of the pond.”  
Pitch grabbed the boy’s shoulder. “Never, ever speak to the moon again! Do you hear me, snowflake? He is a dangerous spirit. He will only bring you hurt.” The Nightmare King paused when he felt the boy squirm in his grasp and let go when he saw the boy’s wide blue eyes fill with fear. It was absolutely delicious, but there would be time enough for that later. “Have I frightened you, Jack? I’m sorry. I only meant to give warning to keep you safe. That’s all I want.”  
Jack nodded slightly, but kept his distance, his hands clenching the staff. Pitch smiled again. “Jack, child, come now and don’t be frightened. Show me what you can do!”  
“Do?”  
“Yes, boy! Show me all the wondrous gifts you have brought the world! What are your talents?”  
The boy’s eyes lit back up a little at the prospect of sharing. He was a bit of a showoff, Pitch was sure of that. But he didn’t look at it as a trait to be remedied, rather a venue to be expanded.  
With a wave of his staff the boy sent a shock of ice across the surface of the lake, allowing the wind to lift his lanky form into the air. White hair flying, he touched trees with the staff, sending frost spiraling down the evergreens and firs as the staff began to glow and a tentative snow fell from the sky. Pitch laughed delightedly at the boy’s work. Such potential in such a moldable package! The man in the moon couldn’t have possibly sent him a better birthday present.  
Jack landed a ways off, cheeks flushed blue with his excitement, and flash froze a bare bush in his rush. Pitch clapped and laughed again as he slowly inched his way towards the sprite.  
“Wonderful, Jack! Just wonderful!”  
Jack smiled. “Really?”  
“Absolutely! I’ve never seen anyone with a talent like yours!” The boy was within reach. Pitch held out a hand, his own excitement unable to be curbed. The boy looked as if he was going to take the hand when he suddenly stopped and began to draw back. Something was not right here. Something was wrong and every instinct within him told him to run far away from this creature.  
“Take my hand, Jack,” Pitch said and leaned a bit closer. “I know a great place where we can go.”  
Jack shook his head. Instinct said to fly, so that’s what he would do. But before the wind had a chance to wrap its arms around its frost child, ashen fingers gripped Jack’s wrist tightly and wrenched the staff away. With a cry, Jack fell from the sky, one shadowed hand deftly catching him and pinning his arms to his chest. Pitch threw the staff into a nearby shadow, smiling when the boy stopped fighting him long enough to shudder when it disappeared.  
“Let me go!” He screamed. “Help! Someone help!”  
Pitch muffled his cries with a hand across his mouth and tightened his grip on the boy’s body.  
“Shhh,” Pitch cooed. “Hush now my little frost spirit. All will be well.”  
Jack kicked out both legs, jerking frantically against the arms holding him. The moon shone brightly above them. Pitch grunted when one of the wild kicks hit its mark. He was quickly loosing his patience. Tightening his grip on the teen’s jaw, he placed his other hand over the boy’s eyes, releasing a tiny bit of his newest experiment. Dream sand that cast the dreamer into a deep sleep, filled with nightmares. Wouldn’t Sanderson be proud?  
The boy grew lax in his grasp, eyes lolling as Pitch ran his fingers through the white hair. “Rest now,” He cooed. “My little Jökul Frosti.”


	2. Mother to Us All

Where we left off:  
Tightening his grip on the teen’s jaw, he placed his other hand over the boy’s eyes, releasing a tiny bit of his newest experiment. Dream sand that cast the dreamer into a deep sleep, filled with nightmares. Wouldn’t Sanderson be proud?  
The boy grew lax in his grasp, eyes lolling as Pitch ran his fingers through the white hair. “Rest now,” He cooed. “My little Jökul Frosti.” 

 

Chapter 2: Mother to Us All

It didn’t take long for someone to discover him. In the grand scheme of things, two weeks was miniscule, really, especially for a spirit so new and unknown. His discovery had been by chance, or by fate if one would like to call it that. If he hadn’t been sniffling so much she probably would never have found him anyway. But sniffle he did, and when Mother Nature opened the shadow door to find a Frost Child strung up in the corner of the room with black iron chains and a bar brawl face she realized that it was for this one that the moon had been dimming.  
He cringed when he saw her, her features so cleverly alike her father, and tried to break free once more to escape her. But most of the fight had already been beaten out of him so when she released his wrists and wrapped him in her cloak of winter’s biting chill he only fought her a little.  
“Hush, now, frost child.” She brushed dirty white bangs out of his eyes. “It will all be made right.”  
In his feverish state he could only shiver and snuggle deeper into the cold.  
“You’re undoing all my progress,” a voice called out from the shadows. Mother Nature pulled the sprite into her lap and wrapped the folds of the cloak tighter around him. She glared into the darkness.  
“I see no progress here. I will be leaving now, Pitch, and he will come with me.”  
The voice scoffed. “I see no reason why he should go with you. You are not his master, daughter.”  
“He is a winter sprite, an embodiment of nature and I am mother to all of nature. That makes him my son.” She unconsciously gripped the boy tighter. He whimpered.  
“Then by turn I am his grandfather.” The voice chuckled again.  
“You are nothing of the sort,” she scoffed.  
A hand waved her off in the darkness as golden eyes shimmered brightly. “Genealogies mean nothing. He is mine, and I shall not be having my property stolen out from under my nose.”  
“Count your lucky stars I’m not taking him under your nose or you’d never have noticed.”  
Pitch frowned and left his hidden place in the shadows. Fury danced across his features, dissipating as quickly as it came.  
“Watch your tongue, girl. You try my patience and I might just kill him for spite.”  
The boy whimpered.  
“Hush, Jökul!” Pitch spat. The boy quieted.  
“He’s not some dog, father, he’s a child!”  
“Calling him an ice brat or a mutt doesn’t change his worth. He has power and I will wield it one way or another. Don’t roll your eyes and act as if you haven’t felt it. Infant though he may be, he holds enough power to end the world without breaking a sweat. All he needs is someone willing to break him in order to unleash it.”  
“Enough!” Mother Nature cried. She stood and walked quickly from the cell, the boy still resting in her arms. He had entwined his fingers into her long, black hair. He weighed less than the cloak.  
“Seraphina,” Pitch called from behind her. “I’ll be taking my boy back before you leave.”  
She spun around, eyes blazing. “You will not lay a hand on him!”  
Pitch laughed. “Really, darling, who are you to stop me?”  
“I am the wielder of the winds and the mistress of the seasons. Who are you to challenge my authority?”  
“Pitch Black, the Nightmare King, at your service, milady.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “Come now, love. Give me back my prey and I will let you visit him whenever you please. Try to take him and I will slit his throat and take one of your nymphs as a consolation prize.”  
Oh how Seraphina wished she could have killed him in that instant! But the moon had been clear on that night many years ago that fear must not be extinguished. It was necessary for the betterment of mankind, no matter how unpleasant the shell embodying it may be. So instead, she set the boy down, untangled his arms from her hair, and held him steady until he found his feet. Frost spread unchecked from his toes and she bit her lip in sorrow. All the while, he begged her quietly for help. Instead she walked him forward and allowed the ashen hands to grip his shoulders once more. She watched with little emotion as he kicked and screamed, ice climbing up his master’s arms as he begged her to not leave him. Pitch merely squeezed tighter until he felt a collarbone snap and put the boy out of his misery with a dose of his nightmare sand. He held him for a few moments before throwing him to the ground and grinning at the sound of the boy’s skull cracking against the stone stairs. Tears had dried tracks down his dirty cheeks.  
Mother Nature ground her teeth in fury, pulsing with enough power to destroy the entire cavern and everyone in it should she loose her control. The Nightmare King, sensing his danger, slung the boy up over his shoulder and carried him back to his room. The boy’s cape fell over his hair before Seraphina could get a good look at the gash the stone had left on the back of his head. Pitch set him down on a pile of straw in the corner and locked the door before rejoining his daughter in the main hall. The two minutes he was gone had been enough for her to regain control of her power.  
She met him with eyes as dull as stone. “If you ever abuse him in my presence again, I will blind you with light so intense it will burn your eyes out of their sockets, cut out your tongue, and cause you to forever wander the earth blind and dumb with only the screams of others’ fear too far away for you to feel to keep you company.”  
Pitch paled. “Duly noted.”  
“Good. I will return soon, and I fully expect him to be cohesive and without injury by that time.”  
“I promise you a living, breathing ice boy next time you visit. Play your next tricks on him, I’m far too old to fall for them.”  
“Careful, Pitch,” Seraphina spat, “The day will come when the Moon’s Commander will lift the ban on your head, and you had better hope I am in a forgiving mood in those moments.”  
“Leave me!” Pitch spat.  
Mother nature left the cavern without another word, her heart heavy with guilt as unuttered comforts still burdened her tongue. She breathed deeply when the air became fresh and snow crunched under her slippers. She walked until she reached the pond that still held moonbeams two weeks old beneath the ice’s glassy surface.  
“Oh, Tzar Lunar,” She whispered. “I wish I could say your time of mourning has ended, but the cause for your sorrow still rests in the enemy’s hands.”  
A voice filled her mind. Oh, Seraphina. Do not despair, for my frost child has a protector now. And that is more than I could ever have given him.  
Mother Nature sat dumbly for a moment before speaking again. “I cannot release him from his bondage. I cannot save him.”  
But you can guide him. Be a light in the darkness, Child. A heart of light such as his needs a kindred spirit to overcome the darkness. In time all will be made well, I have a family in mind for the boy.  
“How will he come to be a part of it? At this very moment he suffers at the hands of a captor that will never let him go!”  
His current situation will not affect the outcome if he has the strength to overcome his battle scars. Our snowflake is stronger than he looks, Seraphina. A heart of gold beats inside of him, and it will not be easily broken. Watch over him, dearheart, light his way. Be his guardian until he himself takes his watch over others.  
Mother Nature nodded solemnly. “All this and more I swear to you and the High One I will be. And I look towards the day of his deliverance with a heart of gladness.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! He’s not so alone anymore! But Mother Nature won’t always be there to save him…FORESHADOWING!! 
> 
> I look forward to hearing your opinions and suggestions!

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter will be posted soon :) Leave comments or Kudos as you see fit!


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